Quarterly releases Copy link
Each year has four quarterly releases, labelled A through D and starting in January, April, July and October. The January release carries the year’s changes from the final rule: new RVUs, new GPCIs and a new conversion factor. Later quarters correct values and add codes. CMS posts a quarter’s files a few weeks before the quarter starts, so the newest file on CMS’s site can describe a quarter that hasn’t begun.
Revisions within a quarter Copy link
Two kinds of same-quarter revision look alike and work differently. Some take effect on a stated date partway through the quarter. CMS split the first quarter of 2024 into RVU24A, for dates of service January 1 through March 8, 2024, and RVU24AR, effective March 9, 2024, with a higher conversion factor (32.7442, then 33.2875). CPT 99213’s national office amount was $89.39 on March 8 and $90.87 on March 9. Others are retroactive corrections dated back to the start of the quarter, such as RVU18AR, so the file they replaced never finally priced a service. The date of service decides which file applies.
Where CMS keeps old releases Copy link
CMS keeps past releases on its PFS relative value files page as ZIP bundles. They are complete, but slow to use: file names and column layouts change between years, the ZIP-to-locality crosswalk ships separately, and a revised quarter can sit next to the original under a similar name.
Looking up a past rate here Copy link
Every code page has a dated version for each release we hold and a history of its amount across releases. See the 99213 rate history for an example, or the list of releases for the dates each one covers. The calculator picks the release from a date of service, including the mid-quarter revisions above.
Which release governs a date of service Copy link
Enter a date of service to see the physician fee schedule release Medicare prices it from.
Try , ,
Date of service March 12, 2024
Services on March 12, 2024 are priced from the Q1 2024 release (revision 2).
This file took effect March 9, 2024, partway through its quarter, so it governs from that date rather than the quarter start.
- In force from
- Mar 9, 2024
- Quarter ends
- Mar 31, 2024
- Conversion factor
- $33.2875
See the Q1 2024 release and its CMS files · Price a code on this date
Chosen the way the calculator and API choose: the newest file in force on the date of service, not the newest file CMS posted for that quarter.
Frequently asked Copy link
Which Medicare rate applies to a claim?
The rate in the Physician Fee Schedule release in effect on the date of service. A rate published later, including the current one, does not apply to an earlier service unless CMS issued it as a retroactive correction.
What were the two 2024 first-quarter Medicare releases?
CMS published RVU24A for dates of service from January 1 through March 8, 2024, with a 32.7442 conversion factor, and RVU24AR for dates of service from March 9, 2024, with a 33.2875 conversion factor.
When do new Medicare rates take effect?
On the first day of the quarter a release covers: January, April, July or October, unless CMS states a different effective date for a revision. The annual changes take effect in January.
Sources Copy link
- CMS Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value Files
- CMS Physician Fee Schedule overview (cms.gov)
- CMS Physician Fee Schedule Final Rule (annual)
Written from primary CMS sources—see how we source, compute, and verify everything on this site.
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